Commercially Manufactured Plain Papers in the United States, 1860–1900

ABSTRACT

This article examines the manufacture and use of commercial plain papers in the United States between 1860 and 1900. Although plain paper printing is thought to have fallen out of use in the United States after the 1850s, an examination of photography manuals and periodicals published in the United States during the subsequent decades reveals a surprising number of advertisements for and tipped-in samples of manufactured plain papers. These texts and sample prints are valuable resources for conservators and historians of photography because they reveal the varied uses these papers were put to, the kinds of consumers who bought them, and the procedures for working them. The extant samples are also significant as evidence of the visual and material qualities of commercially available plain paper prints. This article will focus on three plain papers: Alabaster Paper, manufactured by Follett & Johnson of New York in the 1860s; Licht-paus Paper, produced by Romain Talbot of Berlin in the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s; and American Matt-Surface Paper, manufactured by John R. Clemons of Philadelphia in the 1890s.

RÉSUMÉ

Cet article présente la production et l'utilisation des papiers commerciaux standards aux États-Unis, des années 1860 à 1900. Même si l'on croyait que l'impression à l'aide de papiers standards était tombée en désuétude après les années 1850, une relecture de manuels de photographie et de périodiques publiés dans les décennies subséquentes a permis de découvrir un nombre impressionnant de publicités et d'échantillons insérés de papiers standards. Ces textes et les échantillons qui les accompagnent constituent de précieuses ressources pour les restaurateurs et les historiens de la photographie, en dévoilant les usages variés de ces papiers, les consommateurs qui se les procuraient ainsi que les façons de les travailler. Les échantillons existants sont très révélateurs des caractéristiques visuelles et matérielles des papiers standards disponibles à l'époque. Cet article présente trois types de papier standards : le papier Alabaster, produit par Follett & Johnson de New York dans les années 1860; le papier Licht-paus, produit par Romain Talbot de Berlin dans les années 1870, 1880 et 1890; et les papiers American Matt-Surface, produits par John R. Clemons de Philadelphie dans les années 1890. Traduit par André Bergeron.

RESUMO

O artigo aborda a fabricação e o uso de papéis comuns comerciais nos Estados Unidos entre 1860 e 1900. Embora se entenda que a impressão em papel comum tenha caído em desuso nos Estados Unidos depois da década de 1850, um exame em manuais de fotografia e periódicos publicados nos Estados Unidos durante as décadas subsequentes revelou um número surpreendente de anúncios e de amostras anexadas de papéis comuns manufaturados. Estes textos e amostras impressos são fontes valiosas para conservadores e historiadores da fotografia porque revelam usos variados destes papéis, os tipos de consumidores que os compravam e as formas de empregá-los. Os exemplos remanescentes são também evidencias significativas das qualidades visuais e materiais das impressões comerciais em papeis comuns disponíveis. O artigo tem como foco três tipos de papéis comuns:o papel Alabaster, fabricado por Follet & Johnson de Nova York, nos anos de 1860; o papel Licht-paus, produzido por Romain Talbot de Berlim, nos anos de 1870, 1880 e 1890, e o papel American Matt-Surface, produzido por John R. Clemons da Filadelfia, nos anos 1890. Traduzido por Claudia Carvalho.

RESUMEN

Este artículo examina la manufactura y uso de los papeles simples en los Estados Unidos entre 1860 y 1900. A pesar de que se pensó que la impresión sobre papeles simples había caído en desuso en los Estados Unidos después de la década de 1850, una revisión de manuales de fotografía y de publicaciones periódicas en los Estados Unidos durante las décadas subsecuentes reveló un número sorprendente de publicidad y de inclusión de muestras de papeles simples manufacturados. Estos textos y muestras de impresión son recursos valiosos para los conservadores e historiadores de la fotografía porque revelan los variados usos que se les dio a estos papeles, los consumidores que los compraron, y los procedimientos para usarlos. Las muestras que aún existen son también significativas como evidencia de su apariencia y de las cualidades del material impreso en el papel simple comercialmente disponible. Este artículo se enfocará en tres papeles simples: Papel Alabaster, manufacturado por Follet & Johnson de Nueva York en la década de 1860; Papel Licht-paus, producido por Romain Talbot de Berlín en las décadas de 1870, 1880 y 1890; y el Papel American Matt-Surface, manufacturado por John R. Clemons de Filadelfia en la década de 1890. Traductores: Vera de la Cruz Baltazar y Ramón Sánchez Chapellín; revisión: Amparo Rueda.

KEYWORDS:

• Photography
• photographic papers
• plain paper prints
• salted paper prints
• photography manuals

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Adrienne Lundgren, Ronel Namde, and Joan Walker for generously sharing their knowledge of the plain paper printing and the platinum toning of plain paper prints. This paper also benefited greatly from the comments and suggestions provided by Erin Murphy, Lee Ann Daffner, the two anonymous reviewers from the Journal of the American Institute for Conservation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributor

Katherine Mintie is the John R. and Barbara Robinson Family Curatorial Fellow in Photography at the Harvard Art Museums. She received her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on the history of photography in the United States. She is working on projects related to early photographic copyright law in the United States and the transatlantic exchange of photographic prints through nineteenth-century photography periodicals. Address: John R. and Barbara Robinson Family Curatorial Fellow in Photography, Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge, MA 02138 USA. Email: [email protected]

Notes

1 One of the few manufactured salted papers advertised in the American photographic press at the time was John DeWitt (J. D. W) Brinckerhoff’s Porcelain Surface Photographic Paper, which was patented in November 1865 and sold by E. & H.T. Anthony in New York City. The author has not located a print made using this paper. It was likely that the appearance of this plain paper on the market that prompted Edward Wilson to seek out a competing paper to sell through his photographic supply house, Wilson & Hood. See advertisement in Humphrey’s Journal of Photography and the Allied Arts and Sciences (Brinckerhoff's Porcelain Surface Photographic Paper, 1866), front matter.

2 Other matte-surface processes were also introduced in this period as alternatives to expensive platinum printing. One example is the kallitype process. Wilson’s Photographic Magazine featured a kallitype print made with Celerite paper from a negative by James H. Smith in its May issue for 1895. For a description of the process and paper, see “Our Picture” in Wilson’s Photographic Magazine (Our Picture, 1895, 234–236).